Adjustable signs



Sept. 15, 1959 M. UMANOFF 2,903,806

ADJUSTABLE SIGNS Filed May 14, 1957 United States Patent M ADJUSTABLE SIGNS Martin Umanolf, Huntington, N.Y.

Application May 14, 1957, Serial No. 659,021

3 Claims. (CI. 40-68) The present invention relates to signs and more particularly to a sign for selectively indicating diflerent information.

One common type of changeable sign is provided with tracks or slots into which interchangeable letters are either slid or pressed. Changing the information on this type of sign is time consuming as it requires that each letter or numeral be removed and a new letter or numeral be inserted. Furthermore, changing the information constitutes a nuisance as the supply of letters may be misplaced or particular letters may be found missing.

Signs having a rotating element for indicating different information also are known. Usually the rotating element has a shaft extension at one end for manually turning it relative to a window opening in the sign. All of the prior rotary type signs are of complicated construction and expensive to manufacture.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a changeable sign which may be easily and quickly adjusted to indicate the desired information with a minimum effort by an attendant.

Another object is to provide a sign of the type indicated which may be adjusted by merely turning a rotatable element at the rearward side of the sign.

Still another object is to provide a changeable sign of the rotary type which is of extremely simple and compact construction and adapted for economical manufacture.

In this specification and accompanying drawings, I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention. It is to be understod, however, that this embodiment of the invention is not intended to be exhaustive nor limiting of the invention; but on the contrary is given for the purpose of illustration, only, in order that others skilled in the art may fully understand the invention and the purpose thereof and the manner of applying it in practical use so that they may modify and adapt it in various forms which may be best suited to the conditions of a particular use.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a front elevational view of a sign incorporating the novel features of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 22 of Figure 1 to show the changeable sign element mounted to rotate relative to a window opening in the sign;

Figure 3 is a rear View of the rotatable elements of the sign and showing the manner of mounting the rotating elements on the sign;

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Figure 3 to show how the end of the cylinder supporting strap is attached to the wall having the window opening;

Figure 5 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 55 of Figure 3 and showing one of the bars of the supporting strap extending through one of the cylinders to hold the latter in the window opening while permitting rotation therein;

Figure 6 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 2,903,806 Patented Sept. 15, 1959 6-6 of Figure 3 and showing another bar of the supporting strap extending through another cylinder to'hold it in a second window opening; and

Figure 7 is a front view of the supporting strap for mounting the cylinders in the chamber.

Referring to the drawing, the present invention is 'shown applied to a sign comprising a body 10 in the form of a plaque having an upper decorative panel section 11, an intermediate changeable sign portion 12 and a lower decorative portion 13. In the preferred embodiment, the body 10 is in the form of a thin wall of paper mache or plastic and molded or otherwise formed so as to give a pleasing and decorative appearance. Referring to Figure 2, the plaque 19 comprises a peripheral flange 14 adapted to engage a wall 15 on which it is mounted. The flange 14 provides a forwardly projecting marginal frame in which a central panel is recessed and from which the intermediate and lower portions 12 and 13 project to give depth to the sign. The sign may be attached to a wall 15 by fastening means such as pressure sensitive blocks 16 of rubber or the like. The rubber blocks 16 are located at the rear of the panel 11 and forwardly projecting lower decorative portion 13 and are adapted to be adhesively attached to a wall 15 by merely pressing the blocks thereon.

The thin wall of material constituting the body 10 of the sign is formed to provide a generally rectangular forwardly projecting box-like structure extending across the sign and open at the rear and forming a chamber 17 having a forward wall 18. The forward wall 18 is provided with one or more rectangular window openings. In the illustrated embodiment the sign is intended to indicate different products for sale such as ice cream, hot dogs, hamburgers or the like or to indicate different flavors of a particular product with the price indicated at one side. Thus, the forward wall 18 of the chamber 17 is provided with two aligned window openings 19 and 20 to indicate the product and price. The forward wall 18 of the chamber 17 is shown slightly recessed with the upper and lower edges 21, 22 and 23, 24 of the window openings 19 and 2t) projecting outwardly to form beveled surfaces.

The interchangeable sign elements comprise curved sheets mounted in the window opening 19 or 20 and having successive lines of indicia thereon of a size to fit the window opening. In the illustrated embodiment each curved sheet is in the form of hollow cylinder to provide a continuous sheet. For example, a relatively long cylindrical sign element 25 is located in the window opening 19 to indicate the product while two relatively short cylindrical sign elements 26 and 27 are located in the window opening 20 for indicating the price of the product. Thus, by rotating the cylinder 25 different products may be indicated and by rotating cylinders 26 and 27 any price may be indicated. The cylinders 25, 26 and 27 are constructed of a thin lightweight material such as plastic which may be extruded in the cylindrical form and cut to the lengths desired. The indicia and/ or numerals can then be printed on the outer periphery of the cylinders.

The cylinders 25, 26 and 27 are held in position in the window openings 19 and 20 by means of a single supporting frame in the form of a strap 30. Strap 30 has bars 31 and 32 overlying the window openings 19 and 20 and Wider wing portions 33, 34 and 35 located at opposite ends and intermediate the window openings 19 and 20. The bar portion 31 of the strap 30 extends through the hollow cylindrical element 25 while the bar 32 projects through the two cylindrical elements 26 and 27. The wider end portions 33 and 34 and wider intermediate portion 35 overlie the rearward side of the wall 18 at the ends of the window openings 19 and 20 and are attached to the wall as by cementing it thereto. The wider end portions 33 and 34 of strap 30 conform to the contour of the front wall 18 at the ends of the window openings 19 and 20 and in the illustrated embodiment the ends are tapered to conform to the slanting sides of the intermediate portion 12 of the sign as shown in Figure 3.

Bars 31 and 32 of the straps 30 are located at the rear of the window openings 19 and 20 and are of a width to engage the inner periphery of the cylinders 25, 26 and 27 on a chord to hold the cylinders tightly in the window openings. The width of the bars 31 and 32 is so dimensioned as to cooperate with the outwardly beveled edges 21, 22 and 23, 24 and provide slots therebetween through which the wall of the cylinders 25, 26 and 27 extend in frictional engagement therewith at the top and bottom of the window openings to retain the cylinders in adjusted position while permitting rotation of the cylinders relative to the front wall 18. The strap 30 also is formed of a thin lightweight material such as plastic and maybe stamped from a sheet of such material. Thus, the present invention provides an extremely simple and compact structure in an adjustable sign which adapts it for economical manufacture.

In operation, the sign is adjusted by merely removing the sign from the Wall 15 and turning the cylinders 25, 26 or 27 to indicate the desired information. For example, if it is desired to advertise that ice cream is on sale at a price of 60 cents as indicated in Figure 1 in the drawing, the cylinder 25 is merely turned on its bar 31 in window opening 19 until the indicia Ice Cream is located in the window opening. Each of the cylinders 26 and 27 is rotated until the numerals 6 and indicate the price. After the sign has been adjusted it may again be replaced on the wall by merely pressing the rubber blocks 16 into contact with the wall 15.

While a single form of the invention is herein illust-rated and described, it will be understood that changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of elements without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Therefore, without limitation in this respect, the invention is defined by the following claims.

I claim.

1. An adjustable wall sign comprising a body member formed to provide sections overlying a supporting surface and a box-like structure projecting forwardly from the sections to provide a chamber, means on said sections for attaching the body member to said supporting surface, said chamber being open at the rear and having a wall at the front with a plurality of aligned window openings therein, one or more hollow cylinders in each window opening having successive lines of indicia on their periphery, said cylinders being of a diameter to fit in said chamber between said window opening and said supporting surface, a single strap for supporting the plurality of cylinders in the window openings, said strap having bar portions extending through the separate cylinder at the rear of the aligned window openings and portions at the ends and between the bars which overlie the rearward side of said chamber wall, said end and intermediate portions of said strap being attached to the rearward side of said wall, and said chamber walls at opposite sides of each window opening being beveled outwardly and said bars engaging the cylinders on chords and being of a width to hold the periphery of the cylinder in engagement with the beveled edges of the walls while permitting rotation relative to the window openings.

2. An adjustable sign in accordance with claim 1 in which the cylinder supporting strap has laterally projecting wings at each end of the strap which overlie the rearward side of said chamber wall, and said wing portions of the strap being attached to the rearward side of the wall by an adhesive.

3. An adjustable wall sign comprising a body member having a single wall formed to provide a base section overlying a supporting wall surface and a box-like structure projecting forwardly from the base section, means on said base section for detachably mounting the body to the vertical supporting wall surface, said single wall box-like structure forming a chamber open at the rear and having a wall at the front with a window opening therein, a continuous wall cylindrical display sheet in the chamber and projecting through the window opening in the front wall of the box-like structure and of a diameter to fit in said chamber between said window opening and said supporting wall surface, said continuous wall cylindrical display sheet having successive lines of indicia thereon of a size and spacing to fit in the window opening, and a supporting bar extending through the cylindrical display sheet and engaging the latter on a chord to hold its outer periphery against the edges of the Window opening in the front wall of the boxlike structure and said bar having laterally projecting wings at the ends of the cylindrical display sheet which overlie the rearward side of the chamber wall, and said wing portions of the bar being attached to the rearward side of the front wall of the box-like structure by an adhesive.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,052,460 Charlier Feb. 11, 1913 1,426,845 Humble et al. Aug. 22, 1922 2,296,551 Ylio Sept. 22, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS 408,389 Germany Dec. 23, 1923 play- 

